BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Purchases Shares of 57,000 PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 57,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,850,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 28,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $909,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its stake in PPL by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 78,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $36.33. 4,791,584 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,923,629. The company has a market cap of $26.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $27.24 and a 52 week high of $36.70. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $35.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. This is a positive change from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. PPL's payout ratio is currently 80.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PPL shares. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim raised their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In related news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

PPL Profile

PPL Corporation, an energy company, focuses on providing electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.6 million customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Kentucky Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Rhode Island Regulated. The company delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Rhode Island; delivers natural gas to customers in Kentucky and Rhode Island; and generates electricity from power plants in Kentucky.